The JCSE and Dimension Data will in September host the CoMMIt Symposium, focusing on the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) process improvement model and how it assists with process maturation in the software development life cycle.
Professor Barry Dwolatzky, JCSE director, says given that only 35% of software development projects* globally are delivered on time, within budget and to specification; improving process within the life cycle is fundamental for both development companies and organisations that commission large software applications and systems.
"CMMI was developed for the US government and industry by the Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute (SEI) in Pittsburgh to assist companies from a host of sectors to improve their development processes. This, in turn, improves the predictive power of an organisation, optimises quality, reduces costs and increases efficiency," he says.
The first symposium will unpack CMMI for CEOs and executives, and will be addressed by members of government, industry and international speakers, including SEI Head of CMMI, Mike Phillips.
"Phillips will discuss how CMMI can assist local companies in improving business processes internally, as well as how it positions companies to bid for off-shore development contracts from Europe and the US," Dwolatzky says.
The event will be hosted by Andile Ngcaba, Chairman of Dimension Data Africa and the Middle East: "To secure sustainability, focusing on process is a non-negotiable for both government and businesses looking to improve their offering and position themselves on the global software development stage."
Dwolatzky says the event will run over two days and will include plenary sessions, panel discussions and breakaway sessions to discuss various elements of CMMI.
As part of the event, executives will have the chance to interact directly with speakers from overseas in the breakaway sessions, along with representatives from the CMMI pilot project being run by the JCSE. Organisations on the pilot include the State IT Agency, First National Bank, Psybergate, Wits University's Computing Services, IBM and Nedbank.
"The pilot is being run in order to build a strong case to present to the Department of Trade and Industry requesting government's support for the mass adoption of CMMI as a tool to improve business processes within local companies," he says.
* The Standish Group Chaos Report from 2006
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